My name is Nellis. I am living with a lifelong condition marked by sensory hypersensitivity, severe environmental overstimulation, and vivid, coherent recall of a previous life as an American airman killed in World War II.
This may sound unusual. It is. But it is not unsupported. Several respected researchers in the field of past-life studies have acknowledged the consistency and depth of my documentation. I have submitted extensive personal records detailing my sensory condition, daily experiences, memories, and rebirth-related somatic symptoms, which are under careful review by multiple people - including DOPS from the University of Virginia.
My current situation is unsustainable. Remaining in the Netherlands is actively harming my physical and mental health. I am seeking lawful relocation to the United States - the country I fought and died for. I believe it is where I belong, not just historically, but biologically and spiritually. My strongest and only viable path at this point is through the O-1 visa. For that, I need support, advocacy, and awareness. This document exists for that purpose.
As much as I am someone who wants to stay away from the public eye - because I value peace and quiet without being bothered by uninvited guests - I also recognize that my condition creates an urgent necessity to gather public attention in order to build the momentum required for the O-1 application to succeed.
Let me be clear: my only interest in this endeavour is to further our scientific understanding of this realm and the human condition. If I can achieve that without getting public exposure, I would welcome it. But if not - so be it.
I did not go through hell multiple times in the past life and in this one, just to end up as another cog in the machine while the significant knowledge I hold in my body as well as my soul is wasted away.
If I can do my part in making sure that the right people gain the right kind of insight from my condition, then I will rest in peace.
My current environment in the Netherlands is not compatible with my condition. I experience severe sensory overload on a daily basis from constant, relentless urban stimuli — dense traffic, irregular loud noises at any time of day or night, visual clutter, and overstimulation that persists even in areas labeled as “quiet” or “natural”. Despite extensive mitigation attempts — noise canceling wireless headphones, earplugs, controlled waking schedules — I am still overwhelmed daily in both day and night, especially during a season other than winter.
The infrastructure here does not accommodate people like me, and the cultural response to my needs has ranged from dismissive to openly hostile.
To put the pressure of my current environment into perspective: the Netherlands has a population density nearly 15 times that of the United States, packing over 1400 people per square mile compared to the US average of around 95. Despite its small land area, the Netherlands supports one of the highest urbanization rates in the world. Financially, the strain is just as stark. With a national debt of 491.6 billion Euros (approximately 41 million in debt per square mile — compared to around $10.4 million per square mile in the United States. More than 90% of the landmass is taken by urban projects, industrial areas, and intensive industrial agriculture. There is no wild nature here. Everything is managed, man-made or at least significantly altered by humans. And instead of realizing the severity of the situation, the Dutch government continues to push for new housing developments — most of which requires farmers to surrender land, because there is simply no space left.
These facts illustrate the extreme compression — economic, spatial, and psychological — that defines daily life here, especially for someone like me whose condition magnifies environmental stress.
This is a matter of survival. My nervous system cannot adapt to this environment — even after 32 years of living here since birth — without deteriorating further. The pressure on the measures I have been forced to take is only increasing — forcing decisions like avoiding the outside world entirely unless it is in the middle of the night when I am supposed to be resting from the sensory overload.
Isolation, physical stress responses, and symptoms resembling PTSD are no longer episodic — they are chronic. If left unresolved, the cost to my long-term health and ability to function meaningfully will be irreversible.
The United States — especially specific rural or semi-rural areas — offers not just relief, but resolution. I would gain access to environmental conditions that reduce my suffering, while reconnecting with the land I once called home. This is about restoration, and fulfilling my passion to contribute to science through lived experience.
— Nellis